Blatter: Football more than a business
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Blatter: "Football is hope for so many people around the world."
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(CNN) -- FIFA president Sepp Blatter vowed to tackle drug use in the sport and said it was time to restore "respect and discipline" to football as the sport's world governing body marks its centenary.
CNN World Sport anchor Don Riddell spoke to Blatter on Friday.
RIDDELL: We are joined now in the studio by the most powerful man in the world of football, FIFA's president Sepp Blatter. Thank you for joining us Mr Blatter. You're over here in the UK of course as part of FIFA centenary celebrations. What have you got planned on the trip?
BLATTER: Absolutely, we have a meeting of the International Football Association Board, who are the guardians of the laws of the game, and we'll pay tribute at the same time to British, and especially English, football for having organized Association Football. Later on, we have an executive committee of FIFA. We will go to a match -- Fulham vs. Manchester United -- and then on Monday we will be received by Her Majesty the Queen. This is the start of events to mark one hundred years in the history of FIFA.
RIDDELL: Of course, this centenary is a great time for reflection but also a time to look forward to the next one hundred years. What do you think is the biggest immediate challenge for football at the moment?
BLATTER: The immediate challenge for football is to bring back discipline and respect and to make sure that football is not only a business. Football is more than that. Football is a school of life. Football is hope for so many people around the world and it's why our slogans for this year are "Our game is fair play" and "Let's be the fair play family."
RIDDELL: Another thing I think you're going to have to tackle sooner or later is drugs, which just seem to crop up in so many sports these days. Do you think FIFA and football have been slow to tackle the problem?
BLATTER: No, but we were a bit surprised by it and we have to admit that. So many cases had been discovered that we had to go to the national associations, who have responsibility inside their countries for controlling their footballers. But it's a nonsense to go into drugs in football. It doesn't add anything; those they have now been picking up are mostly cases of nandrolone, which is a muscle-building steroid. Bigger muscles are not good for football. But we have to work on that and we have to control our game. We will make a big statement at our congress of the centenary which will take place on May 20-21 in Paris.
RIDDELL: One the biggest cases recently which made headlines all around the world was the case of Rio Ferdinand, who missed his drugs test. Were you happy with the way that investigation was handled and his subsequent eight-month ban?
BLATTER: I was happy with the eight-month ban but not the way it was handled. We had a meeting this morning with the FA chairman and the chief executive. It is an example of how a case should not be handled but now it has been concluded I'm sure it's an example for the future. National associations have to take immediate action. But I have to say this is more a problem for individual sports than team sports.
RIDDELL: You talked about national associations. Another big topic at the moment is the fact that international players can effectively play for other countries now as long as they've been resident there for a certain period of time and they haven't played for their own country. That seems to be a recipe for abuse for some players and some countries.
BLATTER: It's not so easy. As you say, we have to be very careful on that. But national identity must be given by a nation, and decided according to the laws of that country. It is up to all single governments to decide when somebody will gain or obtain the nationality of that country.
RIDDELL: What do you think about the CNN/World Soccer Top 10 poll? Are Arsenal still the best club in the world?
BLATTER: I think that if you look at the results they have obtained in the league and now also in international competitions I would not go against the poll. I would say Arsenal are a very good team and also a wonderful spectacle. I saw the match against Chelsea on television and I saw part of their game in Spain (against Celta Vigo). I think they are really good, very good.
RIDDELL: Let's discuss more your role with FIFA. It was a big year for you last year with the presidential elections. You've become a bit of a survivor because perhaps the odds were stacked against you and there was so much negative criticism about corruption and bribery and all the rest of it. Do you think that you've overcome that now and can you restore FIFA as a credible organization?
BLATTER: Yes, absolutely, this was the power game in 2002 and the result of this power game was last year in the extraordinary congress in Dora, when I was given an additional term to be the president until 2007. It means the FIFA family have realized that what has been said about FIFA and the president was only a power game. The power game is over, we are now in power and we work for the game.
RIDDELL: Not all the organizations around the world supported you. The Football Association here memorably didn't back you. Was it hard to forgive organizations like that and move on?
BLATTER: Yes, absolutely, but you have to do that in a position of power. I am the president of all 204 associations, even though some of them didn't vote for me in 2002. But in 2003 they all applauded me so now I think we have unanimity. We have to work hand-in-hand and I have very good relations now with the English FA. It's important because everything which is done in England will have an international resonance through media, television, radio and printed press. It's very important for us, but also for the FA, to work together as then we are strong.
RIDDELL: I want to ask you about the United States because that seems like a market FIFA really needs to crack if you're going to be a genuine world body for the game. You've got so much competitions there with the NFL, baseball and basketball. Do you think that football can succeed there?
BLATTER: Football can only succeed if they have their own stadiums in Major League Soccer. Now they've started to build their own stadiums. Otherwise they have such a short season, March to October, because they have to use American football stadiums and therefore they will never attract the big players from Europe or South America. We'll have to wait a few years but don't forget that the United States Federation is the biggest in the world. They have around 20 million registered players, among them 8.3 million girls and women, so therefore it's already a power. But they need time to organize to compete against the NFL, the NBA and so on.
RIDDELL: You touched on the issue of women in American soccer. I can't let you go without asking about your comments about their kit. You said they should wear a tighter kit -- is that true?
BLATTER: No, I've said they should wear more feminine kit and then some journalists transformed it into something else. I'm very sorry for what they've done and I would like to say to all women and girls that have been, let's say, a little bit confused by some statements made by journalists, that what they said was never my intention.
